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Home -> Robert Louis Stevenson -> Treasure Island -> Powder and Arms

Treasure Island - Powder and Arms

1. Dedicated

2. The Old Sea-dog at the Admiral Benbow

3. Black Dog Appears and Disappears

4. The Black Spot

5. The Sea-chest

6. The Last of the Blind Man

7. The Captain's Papers

8. I Go to Bristol

9. At the Sign of the Spy-glass

10. Powder and Arms

11. The Voyage

12. What I Heard in the Apple Barrel

13. Council of War

14. How My Shore Adventure Began

15. The First Blow

16. The Man of the Island

17. Narrative Continued by the Doctor: How the Ship Was Abandoned

18. Narrative Continued by the Doctor: The Jolly-boat's Last Trip

19. Narrative Continued by the Doctor: End of the First Day's Fighting

20. Narrative Resumed by Jim Hawkins: The Garrison in the Stockade

21. Silver's Embassy

22. The Attack

23. How My Sea Adventure Began

24. The Ebb-tide Runs

25. The Cruise of the Coracle

26. I Strike the Jolly Roger

27. Israel Hands

28. "Pieces of Eight"

29. In the Enemy's Camp

30. The Black Spot Again

31. On Parole

32. The Treasure-hunt--Flint's Pointer

33. The Treasure-hunt--The Voice Among the Trees

34. The Fall of a Chieftain

35. And Last







9

Powder and Arms

THE HISPANIOLA lay some way out, and we went under
the figureheads and round the sterns of many other
ships, and their cables sometimes grated underneath our
keel, and sometimes swung above us. At last, however,
we got alongside, and were met and saluted as we
stepped aboard by the mate, Mr. Arrow, a brown old
sailor with earrings in his ears and a squint. He and
the squire were very thick and friendly, but I soon
observed that things were not the same between Mr.
Trelawney and the captain.

This last was a sharp-looking man who seemed angry with
everything on board and was soon to tell us why, for we
had hardly got down into the cabin when a sailor
followed us.

"Captain Smollett, sir, axing to speak with you," said he.

"I am always at the captain's orders. Show him in,"
said the squire.

The captain, who was close behind his messenger,
entered at once and shut the door behind him.

"Well, Captain Smollett, what have you to say? All
well, I hope; all shipshape and seaworthy?"

"Well, sir," said the captain, "better speak plain, I
believe, even at the risk of offence. I don't like
this cruise; I don't like the men; and I don't like my
officer. That's short and sweet."

"Perhaps, sir, you don't like the ship?" inquired the
squire, very angry, as I could see.

"I can't speak as to that, sir, not having seen her
tried," said the captain. "She seems a clever craft;
more I can't say."

"Possibly, sir, you may not like your employer,
either?" says the squire.

But here Dr. Livesey cut in.

"Stay a bit," said he, "stay a bit. No use of such
questions as that but to produce ill feeling. The
captain has said too much or he has said too little, and
I'm bound to say that I require an explanation of his
words. You don't, you say, like this cruise. Now, why?"

"I was engaged, sir, on what we call sealed orders, to
sail this ship for that gentleman where he should bid
me," said the captain. "So far so good. But now I
find that every man before the mast knows more than I
do. I don't call that fair, now, do you?"

"No," said Dr. Livesey, "I don't."

"Next," said the captain, "I learn we are going after
treasure--hear it from my own hands, mind you. Now,
treasure is ticklish work; I don't like treasure voyages
on any account, and I don't like them, above all, when
they are secret and when (begging your pardon, Mr.
Trelawney) the secret has been told to the parrot."

"Silver's parrot?" asked the squire.

"It's a way of speaking," said the captain. "Blabbed,
I mean. It's my belief neither of you gentlemen know
what you are about, but I'll tell you my way of it--
life or death, and a close run."

"That is all clear, and, I dare say, true enough,"
replied Dr. Livesey. "We take the risk, but we are not
so ignorant as you believe us. Next, you say you don't
like the crew. Are they not good seamen?"

"I don't like them, sir," returned Captain Smollett.
"And I think I should have had the choosing of my own
hands, if you go to that."

"Perhaps you should," replied the doctor. "My friend
should, perhaps, have taken you along with him; but the
slight, if there be one, was unintentional. And you
don't like Mr. Arrow?"

"I don't, sir. I believe he's a good seaman, but he's
too free with the crew to be a good officer. A mate
should keep himself to himself--shouldn't drink with
the men before the mast!"

"Do you mean he drinks?" cried the squire.

"No, sir," replied the captain, "only that he's too familiar."

"Well, now, and the short and long of it, captain?"
asked the doctor. "Tell us what you want."

"Well, gentlemen, are you determined to go on this cruise?"

"Like iron," answered the squire.

"Very good," said the captain. "Then, as you've heard
me very patiently, saying things that I could not
prove, hear me a few words more. They are putting the
powder and the arms in the fore hold. Now, you have a
good place under the cabin; why not put them there?--
first point. Then, you are bringing four of your own
people with you, and they tell me some of them are to
be berthed forward. Why not give them the berths here
beside the cabin?--second point."

"Any more?" asked Mr. Trelawney.

"One more," said the captain. "There's been too much
blabbing already."

"Far too much," agreed the doctor.

"I'll tell you what I've heard myself," continued
Captain Smollett: "that you have a map of an island,
that there's crosses on the map to show where treasure
is, and that the island lies--" And then he named the
latitude and longitude exactly.

"I never told that," cried the squire, "to a soul!"

"The hands know it, sir," returned the captain.

"Livesey, that must have been you or Hawkins," cried
the squire.

"It doesn't much matter who it was," replied the
doctor. And I could see that neither he nor the
captain paid much regard to Mr. Trelawney's
protestations. Neither did I, to be sure, he was so
loose a talker; yet in this case I believe he was
really right and that nobody had told the situation of
the island.

"Well, gentlemen," continued the captain, "I don't know
who has this map; but I make it a point, it shall be
kept secret even from me and Mr. Arrow. Otherwise I
would ask you to let me resign."

"I see," said the doctor. "You wish us to keep this
matter dark and to make a garrison of the stern part of
the ship, manned with my friend's own people, and
provided with all the arms and powder on board. In
other words, you fear a mutiny."

"Sir," said Captain Smollett, "with no intention to
take offence, I deny your right to put words into my
mouth. No captain, sir, would be justified in going to
sea at all if he had ground enough to say that. As for
Mr. Arrow, I believe him thoroughly honest; some of the
men are the same; all may be for what I know. But I am
responsible for the ship's safety and the life of every
man Jack aboard of her. I see things going, as I
think, not quite right. And I ask you to take certain
precautions or let me resign my berth. And that's all."

"Captain Smollett," began the doctor with a smile, "did
ever you hear the fable of the mountain and the mouse?
You'll excuse me, I dare say, but you remind me of that
fable. When you came in here, I'll stake my wig, you
meant more than this."

"Doctor," said the captain, "you are smart. When I
came in here I meant to get discharged. I had no
thought that Mr. Trelawney would hear a word."

"No more I would," cried the squire. "Had Livesey not
been here I should have seen you to the deuce. As it
is, I have heard you. I will do as you desire, but I
think the worse of you."

"That's as you please, sir," said the captain. "You'll
find I do my duty."

And with that he took his leave.

"Trelawney," said the doctor, "contrary to all my
notions, I believed you have managed to get two honest
men on board with you--that man and John Silver."

"Silver, if you like," cried the squire; "but as for
that intolerable humbug, I declare I think his conduct
unmanly, unsailorly, and downright un-English."

"Well," says the doctor, "we shall see."

When we came on deck, the men had begun already to take
out the arms and powder, yo-ho-ing at their work, while
the captain and Mr. Arrow stood by superintending.

The new arrangement was quite to my liking. The whole
schooner had been overhauled; six berths had been made
astern out of what had been the after-part of the main
hold; and this set of cabins was only joined to the
galley and forecastle by a sparred passage on the port
side. It had been originally meant that the captain,
Mr. Arrow, Hunter, Joyce, the doctor, and the squire
were to occupy these six berths. Now Redruth and I
were to get two of them and Mr. Arrow and the captain
were to sleep on deck in the companion, which had been
enlarged on each side till you might almost have called
it a round-house. Very low it was still, of course;
but there was room to swing two hammocks, and even the
mate seemed pleased with the arrangement. Even he,
perhaps, had been doubtful as to the crew, but that is
only guess, for as you shall hear, we had not long the
benefit of his opinion.

We were all hard at work, changing the powder and the
berths, when the last man or two, and Long John along
with them, came off in a shore-boat.

The cook came up the side like a monkey for cleverness,
and as soon as he saw what was doing, "So ho, mates!"
says he. "What's this?"

"We're a-changing of the powder, Jack," answers one.

"Why, by the powers," cried Long John, "if we do, we'll
miss the morning tide!"

"My orders!" said the captain shortly. "You may go
below, my man. Hands will want supper."

"Aye, aye, sir," answered the cook, and touching his
forelock, he disappeared at once in the direction of
his galley.

"That's a good man, captain," said the doctor.

"Very likely, sir," replied Captain Smollett. "Easy
with that, men--easy," he ran on, to the fellows who
were shifting the powder; and then suddenly observing
me examining the swivel we carried amidships, a long
brass nine, "Here you, ship's boy," he cried, "out o'
that! Off with you to the cook and get some work."

And then as I was hurrying off I heard him say, quite loudly,
to the doctor, "I'll have no favourites on my ship."

I assure you I was quite of the squire's way of
thinking, and hated the captain deeply.




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